10/05/2009
NEWS STORY
Panasonic Toyota Racing suffered an extremely disappointing Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. Hopes were high for another significant points haul when Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock lined up inside the top eight on the grid but they faded on the first lap. Jarno's race was short-lived due to an incident on the opening lap. As the cars fought for position from the start, he was forced wide and on to the grass at turn two, with his car spinning back onto the track. He was hit by Adrian Sutil, causing extensive damage and ending his race instantly. Timo's car was slow off the mark and he lost positions before the first corner, ending the first lap in eighth. His first pit stop came on lap 17 when he swapped his worn set of soft Bridgestone Potenza tyres for new ones. He fought hard to regain a place in the top eight and on lap 47 made his final pit stop, this time for hard tyres. He battled to the last lap to improve his position but, on a track where overtaking is difficult, missed out on points for the first time this season.
Jarno Trulli: "It was a very frustrating day for me because I was optimistic our strategy was good and I would be able to score a lot of points. Unfortunately my race did not last very long. I had a poor start because the engine didn't pull exactly as it should have done so I lost some positions and was right behind (Fernando) Alonso and (Nico) Rosberg going into the first corner. Rosberg went off then during the next corner he came back on to the track right next to me. I had to avoid him because he came back on really quickly. I had to steer off the track and lost control of the car over the grass, so I spun and someone hit me. But there is no point in looking back; now we have to focus on the next race when hopefully we can achieve a much better result."
Timo Glock: "I had a tough race. At the start the car didn't pull away; I don't know why but we have to analyse it because Jarno didn't have a great start either. He was in front of me into turn one and then I saw him spinning. I got through the incident but then I was behind Nico (Rosberg) and I couldn't get close enough to him in the slipstream; every time I was close my tyres started to go off. Even when I was in clear air today the car was not perfect so we have to look at what happened and try to come back stronger for the next races."
Tadashi Yamashina - Team Principal: "That was a disappointing race because we were very hopeful of scoring points and it did not happen. We expected a better performance this weekend but things have not worked out as we wanted. The whole team put in a big effort to bring a package of aerodynamic upgrades to this race but ultimately it has been a frustrating weekend so we have to look at the data when we get back to Cologne and understand how to improve. Also, it seemed both Jarno and Timo had some trouble at the start so we have to analyse this too. But we will not be disheartened; we will push really hard in the coming days and we will fight for a better result in Monaco."